Does Father Know Best?
by RevSue
Summary: The story of One Special Night and following... from Jaclyn’s point of view...
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, and I don't know who DOES own them although the movie was produced by Kaboom!, but I know *I* make no money from this work of fiction. I just love Robert and Catherine and wish they'd share their 'secret' stories with me more often! (And don't ask why I'm doing the story from Jaclyn's point of view, because my answer would be "I HAVE NO IDEA! I DON'T EVEN PARTICULARLY LIKE HER!" Sigh.)_

Jaclyn listened half-heartedly to Michael's chatter as she looked out the window, wondering where her sister and Jeff and, more importantly, her father were. The sun was shining brightly on the copious amounts of snow that had fallen over the last eighteen hours, and she knew the plows had been going since the snow had slowed down a few hours ago. Lori had phoned to say that their father had been found safe and sound and they would be home as soon as they had dropped off his companion in misfortune. Then Lori had disconnected before Jaclyn could question her further.

It had been a horrible Thanksgiving so far. Jaclyn still hadn't fully recovered from the shock of finding her mother so vastly different from the vibrant woman of her childhood and even from the somewhat vague woman of last summer who hadn't seemed to let anyone or anything disturb the outward placidness she wore like a cloak. Then, when Lori and Jeff had rushed out to search for their father in the middle of a raging blizzard and left her alone to feed and reassure her young nephew, Jaclyn had had too much time to think after putting the child to bed. Why had her father left the long-term care facility with a stranger? He had SAID he was going to get a taxi! Lori had assured her younger sister when she and her estranged husband had arrived home late last night, exhausted and discouraged at their failure to locate the missing car and occupants, that the nurse at Shelby Manor had said he had been offered a ride by a Dr. Howard, so at least he was in good hands.

"We'll head out first thing in the morning," Jeff had assured the two sisters before they had gone to bed and he had crashed on the sofa. "Once the sun starts to come up, we'll be able to see the ditches on the side of the road. We were pretty thorough last night on the highway, but there are some back roads we can try next. We'll go back to Shelby House along the highway and check to be sure, then start out from there and see what we can find on the way. Too bad the nurse didn't know what kind of vehicle the doc was driving, but if the man is a doctor, he must have some brains and be driving a four-wheel drive or something. The two men probably just holed up somewhere for the night and spent the time playing poker."

Finally Jaclyn saw Jeff's vehicle turn the corner at the end of the street. "Here they come, Michael!" she cried, and the two hurried to the door.

When her father, Lori and Jeff were in the house and Jaclyn and Michael had both had their hugs, Jaclyn shedding a few tears of thankfulness, Jaclyn eyed her father. "You don't look like you spent the whole night playing poker! You must have got some sleep."

"I did. A few hours on the sofa in front of the fireplace ... and we weren't playing poker, it was Scrabble."

"Oh?" Then Jaclyn grinned. "Most doctors I know are HOPELESS at spelling. So did you beat the good doctor?"

"Nah. She beat me. Damn, she's competitive!" Robert shook his head, smiling at the memory. "So, how's my best bud?" he asked his grandson, and headed for the living room with Michael hanging onto his arm and Jeff at his heels, not seeing the shock on Jaclyn's face.

Dr. Howard was a WOMAN? Her father had spend the night with a WOMAN? Jaclyn looked at Lori who grimaced faintly, knowing exactly what Jaclyn was thinking. She leaned closer and said in an undertone, "Not only is Dr. Howard a woman, but she is a very attractive woman! Remember the Hershey lady who used to give out the great Hallowe'en treats? The one in the stone house by the river?"

"HER? Can't be! The Hershey lady moved away! I saw a for sale sign there years ago, then a sold sign... so it can't be her. This doctor must have bought the place."

Lori looked thoughtful. "Well, she really LOOKED like the Hershey lady... and by the way she talked... she said she liked to spoil the kids, and I believe her."

"I don't," Jaclyn said flatly. "I bet she was just saying that to suck up to you ... I bet she wants Dad. I wonder what all happened last night... and if he told her Mommy is still alive?"

"JACLYN!" Lori was horrified.

"Never mind that now," Jaclyn waved that topic away, not wanting to talk about it, and feeling slightly ashamed of herself for letting her sister see her worries. "Are we going to have our Thanksgiving supper today now that Dad is home?" She didn't want to think of her father being with a woman last night... especially when that woman wasn't her mother. "He looks pretty good for being out all night." Inwardly she winced. She hadn't wanted to think about that again! He was OLD! Would he look so good if he had been, well, making out all night, or at least until he was exhausted? She hoped not, but had to suppress a shudder. Eww. Her father wouldn't do THAT... would he? Not at his age! Surely he was past all that! It wasn't as though he was a teenager, with all those hormones running amok.

"You know Mom won't be able to come home, don't you?" Lori asked, her voice full of compassion.

Jaclyn didn't want to think about that either, but it was a fact she was going to have to face. "I guess I do, now. I didn't want to admit it before, but after seeing her... Oh, Lori, I'm sorry I didn't come home earlier..."

Lori hugged her sister and shushed her. "It's okay, Jaclyn, really. Dad didn't want to tell you the whole truth. He wanted you to have your chance in New York. He and Mom BOTH did."

"Really?" Jaclyn's throat was tight. She adored her parents and her sister...

"Really," Lori said firmly. Then she smiled faintly. "But be prepared for the third degree about Brick."

Jaclyn giggled, somewhat hysterically. "It's BROCK! I TOLD you!"

"Come on, baby sis, let's go find out what Dad wants to do about our Thanksgiving supper."

O o O o O o

Lying in bed trying to get an early night after being delivered to her home by Robert's son-in-law at noon, Catherine found herself re-living the previous night. She had felt a warm glow all over once she and Robert had established that they were stuck together and might as well learn to get along. He really was a paradox of a man, all bluster outside and yet tender and personable inside. Sternly she told herself that it had just been one special night, a little adventure in the 'snowy wilderness' and that nothing had happened and nothing would come of it. Still, she remembered the glow...

Thumping her pillow, she tried to clear her mind, then jumped when the phone rang. It was Marina. After establishing that she was indeed all right, and after eating a few spoonfuls of her comfort food from the peanut butter jar by her bed while trying to forget the quiet happiness of sharing that 'Troux Normand' with Robert the previous evening, Catherine hung up the phone and tried once more to settle down. Then she found herself thinking about Tom and how HE had made her glow, and she remembered how they would occasionally slow dance in the kitchen... They had settled into a cozy routine, their marriage running like a well-oiled machine with Tom taking care of the domestic details, enabling Catherine to concentrate on her career. Catherine had missed that machine dreadfully in the last year... had missed Tom almost unbearably. Why was she realizing this now, when it was much too late? Why had she never said to Tom, anytime in the last twenty-five years, just how much she had loved him for being so good to her? Yet she had told Robert...

Would she go on Sunday to Murray's to meet Robert? Not that she expected him to actually come there just for breakfast with her, of course, in spite of what they had agreed. So many pacts were made in times of emergency that were completely forgotten once people were back living their normal lives. Still, he MIGHT just happen to be there with his grandson. Perhaps just in case, on the very slim offchance that she DID happen to meet him there, she could do something about the styling of her hair to make it softer... Maybe it WAS time to change her routine somewhat, the routine established at Tom's death, that is.

She wondered if, after MaryBeth's death, Robert, too, would feel the need to run away from his routine life. Although she hadn't physically run, Catherine HAD withdrawn from many of her routines after Tom's death, only to find that the pain and emptiness kept following her whatever she did. As a cardiologist, although her specialization was in paediatrics, Catherine knew from Robert's few words, even without ever having met MaryBeth herself, that the woman did not have long to live. She wasn't sure just how that made her feel, except that she was already aching for Robert. She KNEW how he would feel. Perhaps if he DID happen to come on Sunday to Murray's, she would be able to establish a relationship with him so that she might be of some comfort and support to him when the day came...

Then Catherine shook her head, disgusted with herself. What made her think he needed HER help and support? He had children and grandchildren, which was more than she herself had had, and he, too, would have the support of many good friends. Unlike her situation, Robert's life would not seem empty and meaningless. He would still have close family, family who even lived in his house now. He would not be alone... No. Catherine had to just forget all about Robert Woodward... if it took the rest of her life.

O o O o O o

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Jaclyn found herself walking back into Shelby Manor with the others. She lagged behind, worrying about what she was going to find today, wondering if she would ever find her mother again and terrified that it was too late. For a moment she almost turned back, but Michael grabbed her hand and tugged her into the room with him, and she realized he was as nervous as she was.

Her mother was sitting in a chair by the window apparently listening to a Sarah Vaughn CD that was playing in the portable machine beside her, and she smiled vaguely when they all walked in. After Robert had greeted his wife with a tender kiss, Jaclyn bent over too and kissed her cheek, saying, "Mom, your soul will live forever because of music, just like that quote you loved. Remember? '_Feed the body food and drink, it will survive today. Feed the soul art and music, it will live forever._' I've got your poster up in my office in New York."

Not even looking at her, MaryBeth mused, "Momma says we have dogs to teach us about love and loyalty. When they die, we learn about loss. We might get a new dog, but it doesn't replace the old one, it just expands the heart."

"Hi, Mom," Lori said, sliding a confused Jaclyn aside gently. "I remember you telling me to read that. Erica Jong wrote it, I think. I was thinking about getting Michael a dog for that very reason."

"Hi, Grandma!" Michael said brightly, never quite looking at his grandmother. "I really DO want a dog! I think my heart needs ex... ex... what you said."

Robert, Lori and Jaclyn chuckled, but MaryBeth was already turning away from them, struggling to get up from her chair, and beginning to breathe hard. "I'm tired. Tell Momma I want to go back to bed."

"But, Mom, we just got here!" Jaclyn said, surprised.

"Too many people! Too noisy! Go away! Let me sleep!" Growing agitated again, MaryBeth pushed at them, wheezing and beginning to shout.

In a moment Sarah was there, soothing MaryBeth and helping her into the bed. Jaclyn, Lori and Michael stepped back to the door, but Robert stayed close although he said nothing. Seeing the anguish on her father's face as he gazed at her mother, a lump formed in Jaclyn's throat. They had loved each other so much, and their love had been quite obvious to everyone around them. Now that her mother had forgotten them, it was hard on them all, but it had to be hardest of all on her father.

"I hurt..." MaryBeth was whimpering. "Here..." and she clutched her chest.

"I'll call the doctor," Sarah said, and glanced at the family members standing helplessly by. "Do you want to stay?"

Jaclyn wanted to cry out that no, she wanted to leave right away and flee back to New York, but she held her tongue. Lori hesitated, looking at her frightened son, then said, "I think I should take Michael home again, Dad. What do you want to do, Jac?"

"I'll ..." The word 'stay' stuck in Jaclyn's throat. She couldn't quite get it out.

Rather heavily, Robert said, "We'll all go. We can always come back tomorrow. She might have a better day tomorrow."

Relieved and ashamed of herself for feeling that way, Jaclyn followed the others out. That night, however, she tentatively approached her father in his room and asked if it would be all right if she stayed longer, perhaps until Christmas. She needed to get re-acquainted with her mother if at all possible. Having already spoken to her boss in New York, as well as Brock, she had been cleared to spend the next month at home. Her father's obvious delight in her decision comforted her somewhat, and she forced down the niggling questions she still had about Thanksgiving night. After all, it really was not her business. Her father was a grown man. Still... he was her father, and another woman should NOT be entering the picture!

Lori came in at that point, and Jaclyn told her that there would be one more in the house for a month, so no longer would Lori have to do all the work.

"That'll be good," Lori said ruefully, rubbing her back. "This pregnancy is harder to bear than with Michael. You can start with breakfast tomorrow so I can sleep in."

"Oh, that reminds me," Robert spoke up, not looking directly at either one. "I'm planning to go to Murray's tomorrow for breakfast, so no need to make any for me."

"Great!" Jaclyn grinned.

"Are you going to take Michael, too?" Lori asked. "He was asking the other day for some chocolate chip pancakes."

"Maybe we can ALL go?" suggested Jaclyn. "I haven't had Murray's pancakes forever!"

"Tomorrow I'm going alone," Robert said quickly. "We'll all go another time." Then, before either of his surprised daughters could say a word, he cleared his throat and pushed them out the door. "It's getting late, and we all need our beauty sleep!" The minute they were clear of the door, it was shut in their faces.

Jaclyn stared at Lori who looked as bewildered as she felt. Then she rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Fathers!"

Companionably the two walked down the hallway. Jaclyn wanted to ask more about what Lori had seen or sensed on the Friday morning when Robert and the doctor had been discovered, but wasn't sure how to approach it, and was quite certain she didn't want to hear about anything... unfitting for a man who was married.

Then Lori said suddenly, "Do you think he... no, never mind."

"Would he have arranged to meet that wo...?" Jaclyn broke off. Then she tightened her lips. "I guess we're both wondering the same thing."

"And we're probably both just jumping to conclusions," Lori said flatly. "I don't want to think about it. I have enough problems of my own."

"Fine." Jaclyn agreed, knowing her sister wouldn't say anything more. "Good night, Lori."

"Night."

O o O o O o

The next morning, having been very aware of her father fussing over his preparations for breakfast at Murray's, Jaclyn watched his vehicle back out the driveway after he had assured Michael that he would be welcome the next time, but that today was just for 'old' people. She wasn't aware that she was frowning until Michael asked her why she was so cross at Grandpa and whether SHE really, really wanted chocolate chip pancakes too.

"Superheros deserve special pancakes sometimes, too," Jaclyn said, after assuring the little boy that she wasn't cross at anyone. "So let's make our own, okay?"

"COOL!" Michael cried happily.

In the midst of the preparations, however, the telephone rang, and Jaclyn's world was turned upside down once more. Soon the two young women and the little boy were on their way to the hospital, Jaclyn phoning her father to meet them there as soon as he could get there. All the hurry was of no use. None of them made it before MaryBeth Woodward passed away.

The next four days passed in a blur as funeral preparations occupied Jaclyn's thoughts. Late at night after the funeral, Jaclyn held a sobbing Lori in her arms and listened to her sister's broken words about the truth of her estrangement from her husband, and the younger woman's distaste for 'cheating' in marriage grew. Over the next couple of weeks, although she tried to suppress her pondering, Jaclyn couldn't help but wonder again about her father's involvement with the doctor. HAD they just met that night? The nurse at the hospice had seemed to know the doctor well, so what would have stopped her father from getting to know the other woman as well? And she DID live close, since Lori had pointed out the stone house by the river where the doctor had been dropped off that morning after Thanksgiving. There was every chance that her father and the doctor had met long ago, and had kept their meetings secret!

Always having been a family ready to talk openly about all aspects of their lives, Jaclyn found she had missed having intimate conversations with her father. Ever since her mother had gotten sick, it seemed that lines of communication shut down and they all tended to keep their thoughts and worries to themselves. Now Jaclyn was determined to go back to the way they used to be. So one night when Lori was upstairs putting Michael to bed, Jaclyn curled up next to Robert on the couch where he was reading. "Daddy? Do you miss Mom?"

"Very much," Robert said, his voice sounding as though he was forcing the words through a tight throat. He put his book down and cuddled Jaclyn the way he had since she had been tiny. "I've been missing her for a very long time now, because the MaryBeth I knew and first loved has not been around for a few years."

"But you wouldn't think about marrying again, would you?" Jaclyn asked daringly.

The sudden jerk she felt as Robert absorbed her comment gave her the answer she had hoped not to receive, and she didn't really need his slow, "I don't know, Jaclyn. I loved your mother and always will, but there might come a time when I miss being married to the woman I love, and I might... fall in love again. It won't mean I love your mother any less... I'll always love her. I'll just have someone new to love. After all, when you were born, we didn't stop loving Lori. Love grows forever, and can always expand to include more and more people. Damn it, you KNOW that, if you think about it logically, Jaclyn!"

"But, Dad, you're... well, you're a little old to fall in love again, don't you think?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Hardly. I'm not ready to sit drooling into my bib in a wheelchair quite yet. In fact..." he picked up his book again and opened it to a marked page. "I was just reading what your mother said the last time we saw her. Remember? Something Erica Jong wrote. I looked it up this evening. Here it is. 'Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love and loyalty. They depart to teach us about loss. We try to replace them but never quite succeed. A new dog never replaces an old dog; it merely expands the heart.' Your mother's death is the same..."

Mock-indignantly, Jaclyn asked, "Are you calling Mom a dog?"

Robert chuckled. "You have the same sense of humour your mother did. NO, I'm merely trying to explain about love, and how it keeps growing to include more people in an expanding heart."

"Have you talked to Lori? Somehow I don't think she'd buy that expanding heart thing when it comes to her and Jeff."

"They're just going through a rough patch. They'll get through it, and their marriage will be stronger than ever."

Jaclyn twisted around and looked him straight in the eye while asking incredulously, "You think so? I wouldn't have thought you'd be on Jeff's side in this."

"What? He made a mistake!"

"Sleeping with another woman was a MISTAKE? DAD!"

"He WHAT?" Robert almost roared. "He never told me THAT!"

"I think you'd better talk to Lori, Dad. According to what she told me, Jeff told Lori that as a man, he has needs and desires and when she wouldn't or couldn't fulfill them, because of her pregnancy, he looked elsewhere! YOU didn't do that to Mom, did you?"

"No, and I never would," Robert looked grim, then with an effort pulled his mind away from his son-in-law and looked at his daughter again. "But my case is different... now that your mother is gone."

Jaclyn looked blank. "You're saying... what are you saying? That you might fall in love? Really?"

"Anything's possible, even for this old man. You know, they say sex is important to keep prostate cancer at bay. And really, even at my age, I DO still have needs and desires... and with all the erotic movies and magazines around, not to mention pretty women, well, let's just say it's not good for a man my age to keep being aroused and then disappointed."

"Eww, DAD! That's too much information!" Jaclyn pulled a face and sat up, then bit her lip as she wondered how to word her next question. 'Umm, Dad?" she asked tentatively, "have you seen the doctor lately?"

"The doctor? Yeah, I had an appointment last week with him. Why? I keep telling you all I'm fine!"

"No, not HIM... not seeing medically... I meant... HER. You know, the one you... you s-spent Thanksgiving with." Jaclyn was vexed to find herself stammering.

"Oh." Unaccountably, the colour in his face deepened. "Catherine. No, I haven't seen her since that night. We were going to meet at Murray's the next Sunday morning..."

"You had a date while Mom was DYING?" Jaclyn was horrified.

"I didn't know she was dying... and it wasn't really a date! We had just agreed to meet if we both survived the night. To be honest, I was afraid I was going to kill her at one point early on because she made me so angry."

Laughter bubbled up in Jaclyn's chest, and the lump of doubt and annoyance began to ease. Only her dad would be marooned with a supposedly attractive woman and actually think about killing her rather than kissing her! Daringly she asked, "Did you ever phone her after Mom died?"

"Nope. Why?" Now Robert was peering at her suspiciously. "Why the third degree all of a sudden? Something going on with you and that Brick? He's not cheating on my baby girl, is he?"

Jaclyn shook her head, smiling. "No, and his name is BROCK, Dad... and we're just friends."

"Mmmmhmmm," Robert didn't sound convinced.

"Anyway, if, well, if you WERE ever to, well, fall in love again," Jaclyn had to force the words out, "would you get married or just..." Her voice trailed off. She didn't really want an answer, she realized. She just wanted reassurance that her father was NOT seriously considering loving another woman!

"Hell no, why get married? We'd just fool around, maybe live in sin like you youngsters..." Robert grumbled, then glared at his daughter. "Of course I'd get married! IF I were to fall in love again."

"And if the woman loved YOU enough to marry you," Jaclyn teased him, suddenly feeling that she really was barking up the wrong tree. Obviously he hadn't thought that far ahead... and she fervently hoped he never WOULD!

Robert, however, thought back to that Thanksgiving night in the cabin. That night had been the first time in the three long, lonely years since MaryBeth had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease that Robert had felt a connection down to his toes and an urge to get close to a woman who was not his wife, and a woman completely different from his wife. Still, it was probably too soon to contact Catherine, much too soon. Damn.

O o O o O o

It wasn't until after the excitement of baby MaryBeth's birth on Christmas Eve that Jaclyn's inner fears saw the light of day again. Her father had actually CALLED Dr. Howard! He had remembered her name and had specifically ASKED for her! Not that Jaclyn wasn't grateful, of course. Being that the baby was early, she needed all the extra help she could get, but still... Jaclyn smothered her thoughts. Christmas morning, her father had suggested taking a small tree and some presents in to the hospital for Lori, to take Christmas to her. Jaclyn wished she could ask Lori's opinion, but Jeff and Michael, not to mention Dad himself, stayed close as they waited for the baby to be brought.

When the woman finally wheeled the infant bed into the room, Jaclyn almost missed the joyful look that lit her father's face. She knew he had been pleased that the tiny girl had been born safely, but... then, when Dr. Howard was introduced, Jaclyn realized the look had been for the doctor and not for little MaryBeth. Something roiled inside her, but she tried to smile and act as if all was well. She admitted with a grin that Lori had been right, the doctor WAS the Hershey lady! When her father and the doctor left the room 'for a moment', Jaclyn even found the strength to giggle with her sister and brother-in-law.

Michael wanted to know why they were laughing, and the adults all quickly sobered up and said, "Nothing." Then Michael said he needed to go to the bathroom, and Jaclyn said she'd take him down the hall.

On their way, she overheard the nurses at the nursing station saying, "Did you see Dr. Howard? She hasn't looked so gorgeous since her husband died last year!"

"Bet she's got a new guy – maybe that one that just went out with her. Did you see how his eyes glowed when he was looking at her?" One nurse whistled softly and they all laughed.

Jaclyn's heart twisted again. _Mom,_ she thought despairingly, _it should be YOU who causes his eyes to light up the way they used to!_ She pointed Michael in the right direction and went to the window to wait for him. Looking out over the parking lot, her breath caught when she saw her father and the doctor standing outside by the Suburban. Her father handed the woman a box... then pulled a white scarf from inside his coat. Jaclyn frowned. What on earth? They were standing so close together... if her father kissed the woman or grabbed her butt, Jaclyn would faint! Then she stared as the two got in the vehicle and it pulled away. Where were they going? What was going on?

When Michael was finished, they hurried back to Lori's room, and Jaclyn announced what she had seen. "Did Dad tell you he was going somewhere?"

"No." Lori answered, as perplexed as her younger sister.

"Grandpa was hoping to take the doctor to see the cabin he bought," Michael said casually, playing gently with his baby sister's bare toes. "Before the fire died down that he built there on his way here."

"What?" both women exclaimed.

"Yeah, he told me that, too," Jeff agreed. "That's why he wanted to get to the hospital early, before she came in and left again for the day."

"And why didn't you inform us?" Jaclyn asked, almost sharply.

Jeff shrugged. "I didn't think it mattered." He stifled a yawn. "God, that was a long night."

The women ignored him. Jaclyn said intensely to Lori, "Mom has only been gone for a MONTH! How COULD he?"

Lori looked sympathetic and as if she agreed, but said softly, "Really, Mom hasn't been a wife for a couple of years now. You just haven't been home long enough to know that."

"Oh fine, blame ME for everything going wrong! Just because I have a job and managed to get away from this town..." Jaclyn flared up.

The baby began to fuss, and Michael looked at his aunt and his mother curiously. "Why are you two so mad? What's wrong?"

"Oh... nothing..." muttered Jaclyn. "Sorry, Lori."

Patting the baby's back and soothing her, Lori smiled. "I'm sorry, too, Jaclyn. I... well, I sort of feel the way you do about Dad, but..."

"What ARE you both talking about?" Jeff stared at them both.

"Nothing." they replied in unison, and grinned.

After about twenty minutes, when Michael had claimed it was HIS turn to hold his baby sister, Jaclyn said in an undertone, "I wonder where Dad is? He said he'd be back soon..."

"With a gorgeous broad like the doc at his side, he's not likely to be back in the near future, in MY humble opinion," Jeff grinned.

"I didn't ask you!" Jaclyn returned sharply. She didn't want to think of the implications of what Jeff was saying, even though she was convinced he was right.

Just then, a nurse came in with a big smile. "Sorry," she said to Lori, "but your hopes of getting out of cooking Christmas dinner have just been dashed. You're being kicked out. Your little girl is just at the required five pounds to leave the hospital and we need her incubator for another baby."

"Is Dr. Howard coming back?" Jaclyn asked as Lori pretended to grumble about having to go home and cook a turkey after all.

"Oh no," the nurse said. "I believe she's off duty until the day after tomorrow. Why?"

"No reason..." Jaclyn said. "Umm, Lori, I'll just give Dad a call and ask him to come and pick us up -- we won't all fit in your vehicle with the tree and these presents." Without waiting for an answer, she pulled out her cell phone and punched in the number. When there was no answer, she sighed. "He's not home. What's his cell number?"

Lori looked blank. Then Michael grinned. "I know what it is! Grandpa made me mem'rize it! I know the house number, too."

"Smart boy! Good thing we kept you in the family instead of giving you away!" Jaclyn grinned. "What is it?"

O o O o O o To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

"Merry Christmas, Millie."

"Merry Christmas... Howard."

Robert took Catherine firmly in his arms and she waited for his kiss, a little furrow in her brow at the faint uneasiness she was feeling with the whole situation. It was too soon for her, even if Tom HAD been gone for over a year... and it was definitely too soon for him! But oh, how she had dreamt about this moment! Then his lips touched hers, and his kiss was everything she had hoped for... every forbidden fantasy fulfilled. Her eyes drifted closed. He deepened the contact, she responded fervently, and in a moment they were both lost.

Finally they took a breath, arms still tightly around each other, holding each other closely, eyes closed in wonder that the other truly did have the same feelings. There was the added factor that neither was sure of actually being able to stand alone, since the kissage had been spectacular, knee-buckling and mind-blowing.

"Robert ... are we really doing the 'swept-away' thing... at our age?" Catherine questioned him at last, her breathing still quick and her heart still pounding.

"I don't know what you're doing, but I'm living out an ancient fantasy that I'm only seventeen!" He buried his face in her neck and sucked hard on her skin, then licked the spot to soothe it again.

Catherine had to chuckle even as her body reacted to his delicious teasing. She knew what she wanted, knew what she felt... and she knew exactly how much trouble two adults could get into if they really worked at it. It seemed that Robert was more than willing to work at it and she really couldn't muster up any logical objection even if she had been so inclined.

Inwardly, Robert conceded that he wasn't completely sure he was up for hours of lovemaking in spite of that being what was primarily on his mind. He hadn't tested the capacity of his virility in a long, long time and he had heard that men his age found long, constant or rapidly-repeated love-making sessions somewhat tricky, but he hoped that he and Catherine could prove them wrong. Today. Tonight. Tomorrow. All next week. For the rest of their lives. He kissed her deeply again. She was a dream he had never hoped to find again. She turned him inside out in ways he hadn't thought to experience again.

Catherine nestled into his arms and returned his embraces passionately, but suddenly the strength and intensity of her feelings for Robert, the helpless happiness, the vulnerability, the unknown future and unanswered questions all started to smother her. The awareness of where this fledgling relationship could lead and the traps they could both fall into along the way almost overwhelmed her. She stiffened almost automatically, and Robert groaned a denial and deepened his embrace. Unable to resist him, Catherine responded wholeheartedly once more.

When Robert's cell phone began to ring persistently, they pushed away from each other, breathless and dishevelled. The phone stopped for a moment, then started up again. "Damn," he panted, fumbling for the phone. "I'm... I'm sorry, C-Catherine." He flipped open the phone and barked, "W-What?", his voice catching.

"Dad? Is that you?"

Robert visibly controlled himself, but his eyes met Catherine's. "Yeah," he said. "Sorry, Jaclyn. I was... a little..." His voice trailed off.

Catherine smiled teasingly and stepped a little closer. "Busy?" she whispered, supplying him with a missing word.

Stifling a groan, Robert closed his eyes, and the hand not clutching the cell phone slid gently down her cheek and over her kiss-swollen lips. She sucked one of his fingers into her mouth suggestively and Robert began to tremble with the force of his desire for this beautiful woman.

"Dad?"

His daughter's voice brought him back to the present. "Yeah?" he managed to say.

"Sorry if I caught you at a bad time..." Jaclyn's voice revealed that she wasn't sorry at all. In fact, she sounded strained herself. "Ah, it's just that, well, they've decided to throw Lori and the baby out of the hospital tonight, and Jeff only has his sports car here at the hospital. Can you come and take Michael and I home ... and the tree and presents?"

"NOW?" Robert couldn't prevent his dismay from surfacing. "Damn... I mean, yeah, sure, Jaclyn. I'll be... oh. Wait. I can't go anywhere. I'm, ah, in the ditch again, same place as Thanksgiving."

O o O o O o

When her father finally answered the phone, sounding out of breath, Jaclyn wondered where he was and what he was doing, then blocked the unwanted images that began to present themselves to her mind's eye. When he heard that Lori was being released, he confessed he had put the Suburban in the ditch, then asked, "Any chance you can send Jeff for us? He'll know where it is. We're in the cabin." Jaclyn's last hope that her father hadn't taken leave of his senses was banished. Especially when he added, "No rush, of course. We're warm enough, since the power is on and the fireplace has a roaring fire in it!"

Jaclyn got off the phone and stonily related the message about being in the ditch. Jeff rolled his eyes. "Last time it was HER, this time HIM. What is it about old people? Maybe they should get their eyes checked! Kinda makes you wonder just what they're DOING in the vehicles, doesn't it?"

"Jeff, please!" Jaclyn pressed her hands to her temples where a massive headache was starting to pound.

"Ewww," Lori agreed. "We really didn't need THAT visual! Okay, we can all fit in your car to get home. We'll just leave this tree here for the other new mother! Then you can take the Jeep to get Dad and the doctor."

"Is the doctor coming home with Grandpa?" Michael asked curiously. "Does baby MaryBeth need her?"

"No, it's your Grandpa who thinks he does," grinned Jeff. "Seems like he's thinking with the wrong head."

"Grandpa only HAS one head!" Michael frowned, puzzled.

"JEFF!" both women exclaimed, and he raised his hands in laughing surrender, not seeing their tension.

Jaclyn chafed at the time it took Lori to get dressed and get the baby ready to go, not to mention gathering the presents, then thanking all the nurses and passing on the small decorated tree along with a box of chocolates. Every moment they wasted here at the hospital then driving home was a moment more that her father could be... she shuddered inwardly, praying her imagination was just being overworked. Dad and the doctor were both too old for that sort of thing, weren't they?

Once they were finally back at her father's house, Jaclyn helped Lori and the baby get settled for a nap before she sent Jeff and Michael off to the cabin and started to organize for the dinner. She had put the turkey in early that morning, so just had to get out potatoes, carrots, and turnip and peel them, leaving them to sit in cold water until the time came to cook them. She made sure the jar of cranberry jelly was at the front of the fridge so she wouldn't forget to put it out. This was the first Christmas she had been 'in charge' of making the meal, and she didn't want to make any mistakes. Her eyes blurred as she set out her mother's fine china, and she longed fiercely to be wrapped in her mother's loving embrace once more. Thinking it would be easier to remove a place setting later rather than add one, she even set a place for the doctor, all the while hoping the woman would just ask to be dropped off at her house the way she had at Thanksgiving.

Two hours passed before Jeff's jeep turned in the driveway and Jaclyn's watchful eyes saw her father jump out of the back seat and hurry around to open the other back door to help the doctor out. So she HAD come back with them. Well, Jaclyn could prove her good upbringing and be polite if it killed her!

As it turned out, although she really didn't want to have anything to do with Dr Howard, Jaclyn found herself liking the older woman more and more as the day went on. Catherine was very good with Michael and paid equal amounts of attention to all the adults. When Catherine asked to see some of Jaclyn's work that had been stored in the basement, Lori said she would finish up the last minute things in the kitchen. Jaclyn led the way downstairs, Catherine and Robert following her.

Grudgingly Jaclyn admitted to herself that the woman understood artistic natures. Catherine exclaimed over the paintings, saying just the right things about each one. When Catherine said softly, "Your father told me at Thanksgiving that your mother had one of my favourite quotes on a plaque. I think you must have inherited a lot of your mother's soul.", Jaclyn was touched, although she refused to admit it even to herself.

"What quote?" Jaclyn asked curiously, wondering if Dr. Howard really meant what she was saying, or if it was just a way to get on her good side.

"'Feed the body food and drink, it will survive today. Feed the soul art and music, and it will live forever.'" Catherine said softly.

Jaclyn's eyes prickled with unshed tears. She loved that quote, and always had. To think that it had meaning for Dr. Howard, too! If only the woman would stay away from her father, Jaclyn mused. Then Michael came clattering down the stairs, and the emotional mood was shattered.

Breathless, Michael came to a halt by Robert. "Grandpa, what is sex?" he asked unexpectedly.

The adults all stared at him in shock. When no one else spoke, Catherine began, "Michael, I don't think your mother..." but Robert interrupted her.

"If he's old enough to ask the question, he's old enough to hear the answer from the person he asked." Robert sat down and took Michael on his knee, ignoring Catherine's somewhat disapproving look, and Jaclyn's blush of discomfort. Steeling himself to leave nothing out, Robert proceeded to describe for Michael in simplified terms all the variations of human sexuality he could conjure, careful to impress upon his grandson the joys and responsibilities of intercourse and procreation. Michael's eyes grew larger and larger. Then Robert concluded, "So that's what sex is, Michael. Do you understand?"

"I guess so..." Michael said slowly, confusion still warring with disbelief on his small face. He slid off Robert's knee and added, "Mom said to tell you that dinner would be ready in a couple of secs."

Now it was Robert's turn to look shocked. After a moment, Catherine and Jaclyn both burst into peals of laughter. That time of laughter brought Catherine and Jaclyn even closer together. Jaclyn found it very difficult indeed to stay aloof from someone who shared her joy in art and had the same sense of humour. As they started up the stairs after Michael, Jaclyn sneezed.

"Bless you! Nine to go!" Robert said cheerfully.

"WHAT?" Jaclyn turned to stare at him and noticed that Dr. Howard was looking puzzled as well.

"What?" he asked, somewhat irritably, frowning at them both. "I've heard that ten sneezes equal the force of an orgasm, so you have nine to go!"

"Where on earth did you hear such a ridiculous statement?" Jaclyn asked, rolling her eyes. Honestly, FATHERS! They shouldn't be talking about such things in front of... well, Dr. Howard wasn't exactly a stranger, unfortunately, but pretty close to it! She wasn't family... yet, anyway. Jaclyn's mood suddenly plummeted.

"Well, technically the fact I heard was that one sneeze is equal to the force of one tenth of an orgasm, but hey, it's just a matter of simple mathematics." Robert said.

"And physiology," added Catherine dryly, but her smile grew broader.

"You tell him," murmured Jaclyn, shaking her head. This was fast proving the strangest Christmas she had ever spent!

Over a merry Christmas dinner, Catherine endeared herself to all the members of Robert's family by insisting that they call her Catherine and not Dr. Howard. She frankly admitted her hopelessness in the kitchen, and praised Jaclyn and Lori's delicious offerings. She commented succinctly and perspicaciously on Jeff's struggles with certain divorce proceedings, then made her views clear on men who cheat on their wives before acknowledging that the men might believe there were extenuating circumstances. Jeff, abashed, kept his head down and seemed relieved when the subject was changed.

Michael hung on every word Catherine said, and was thrilled to be invited to Murray's for a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes the next day "if your Grandpa will bring you," Catherine added, slanting a teasing glance at Robert.

"Your wish is my command," Robert said grandly. Michael giggled.

By the time Robert left in Jeff's car to take Catherine back to the hospital for her vehicle, Jaclyn was almost reconciled to the fact that her father was infatuated with the doctor. That didn't stop her from watching rather wistfully out the window as the car left the driveway.

Lori paused on her way upstairs with the sleeping MaryBeth and asked, "What is it?"

"Nothing, really," Jaclyn sighed. "I just... miss Mom, I guess."

Following Jaclyn's gaze out the window to the car disappearing down the street, Lori nodded. "I am finding it hard to accept that Dad is interested in another woman, too. I almost wish I could hate her, but..."

"I know. I kept looking for flaws all night... Catherine seems to be practically perfect in every way!"

"Except that she's not Mom." Lori said softly.

"Yeah." After a short pause, Jaclyn added gloomily, "And Dad likes Catherine... REALLY likes her, you know? And it gives me the shivers to think of him, well, getting it on with her..."

Lori winced. "I know. We shouldn't be like that, but... Dad? Acting like a lovesick teenager?"

Together the sisters chimed, "EWWWWW!" then laughed.

O o O o O o

When they reached the hospital parking lot, Catherine directed Robert to her vehicle. He had been looking for her red Jaguar, and now looked at her approvingly when she indicated the SUV. "I'm impressed!"

"Well, it's practical ... and someone once told me I had to live in the real world where people don't drive Jaguars in the snow." Robert chuckled. Catherine put her hand on the door handle, then turned to look at him in the dim light from the street lights. "Thank you, Robert, for a wonderful Christmas."

"Thank YOU... Robin..."

Before Catherine could exclaim in wonder that he remembered the name of the fictional cabin owner SHE had made up at Thanksgiving, he had pulled her over to his side... or squirmed over to hers... she wasn't sure which, and nor did she care when his lips were on hers. For long, endless moments they kissed, their passion rising fast and furiously. At last Robert broke away and panted, "DAMN. I'm too old to be trying to make out in a car! Catherine..."

"I know, Robert..." Catherine was having difficulty controlling her own breathing. "I know."

"Michael and I will be by to pick you up about 9 for breakfast, if that's all right."

"That's fine."

"And Catherine... have supper with me tomorrow night?"

Catherine hesitated, then said, "What will your family think of that? Two nights in a row... that's moving awfully fast, don't you think?"

"I'll deal with it. I just... want to be with you. Not in a car... and not somewhere where we can be interrupted."

Knowing exactly what he meant, Catherine flushed lightly, then whispered, "I'd like that, too."

O o O o O o To be continued

Jaclyn tried not to think of what her father and Catherine Howard were doing on the nights they spent alone either at Catherine's house by the lake or at her father's new 'holiday home' cabin. It was obvious before New Year's Eve that the two were extremely close. When Brock phoned to ask her to come back to New York City for the party on the 31st, and to stay, Jaclyn first spoke to Lori, then to her father, then called Brock back and accepted. Maybe it would be easier on her to get away from the whole situation between the doctor and her father for a while!

Once back in New York City, Jaclyn found that it was MUCH easier to ignore the dilemma of what she termed her father's 'reversion to adolescence'. In fact, after she and Brock decided to get married in the summer, Jaclyn's thoughts were divided between work and wedding details, with only occasional moments of worry about her father's love life. Jaclyn HAD to tell her father to be sure to invite Catherine to the wedding, of course, although she felt like a hypocrite saying, "Of COURSE she's welcome, Daddy!"

Over the following months, Lori would mention over the phone that Catherine had been over for dinner or that her father had taken the doctor out for supper. On a couple of occasions, the two had gone away for a weekend together. Jaclyn shuddered at the intimacy such actions implied, but agreed with Lori that there was nothing for it but to accept their father's desire for Catherine's companionship.

"Do you really think they LOVE each other?" Jaclyn asked Lori one night. "I mean, the way Brock and I...?"

"I don't want to think about it," Lori said promptly, then sighed. "But yeah, I think they do."

"I always thought that once you were old, you didn't feel the need of physical love. Maybe they're just friends ... doing things together so they don't have to be alone?"

"Dad? With an attractive woman like Catherine? You really think they don't... you know... kiss and stuff?" Lori scoffed.

"Kiss I can maybe accept," Jaclyn grumbled. "It's the 'and stuff' that bothers me."

Lori laughed, and Jaclyn reluctantly joined in, realizing she was behaving like a spoiled child. The sisters then got in to a big discussion regarding Jeff and his rather amazing switch to becoming a model husband and father. Jaclyn admitted that for a while she had thought Lori had taken leave of her senses when she just accepted him back 'no questions asked' on Christmas Eve.

"Oh, there were questions... later... believe me. And he's on a very short leash right now," Lori said pointedly. "He knows he has to remain on his best behaviour, or there will be hell to pay. First I told him... then Dad talked to him... and I have the feeling Dad actually HIT him during that 'talk'!"

"Dad?"

"Yeah. I guess I have you to thank for that – you were the one to tell Daddy the truth about our problems last fall. From what I understand, Dad put the fear of God into Jeff. I don't think he'll stray again. And Heather has gone. She moved to Los Angeles, so I REALLY don't have to beware of her anymore."

"Wow! Dad really did that? Cool."

"Of course, Catherine's comments now and then helped too... she told us that her marriage wasn't idyllic in the beginning either, but they worked together and things improved. So Jeff and I are really trying now, both for the sake of the children but also for our OWN sake!"

Even Jaclyn was a little sorry when her father informed her the day of her wedding that Catherine had been called in to the hospital for an emergency, and didn't think she'd make it to either wedding OR reception. Catherine had been so helpful in the week preceding the ceremony, and at the rehearsal had remarked wistfully that this was as close as she ever expected to get to helping with a daughter's wedding. Then she had added softly, "And Jaclyn, I know you are missing your mother very, very much at this time, and it's only to be expected. My mother was gone by the time I was married, too... and there is really no replacement for her, is there?"

Catherine had also refused to sit with Robert for the ceremony, overcoming his loud and strenuous objections, saying she had no real part with the family, although she had agreed to sit with him at the family table for the reception. Jaclyn was so happy about her marriage and so full of love and forgiveness that she was actually delighted when the doctor appeared late that night, looking weary but beautiful, and wished the young couple a very happy life. Certainly Robert's eyes lit up when he saw Catherine, and that night Jaclyn didn't begrudge the older woman a thing.

One night in mid-November, Jaclyn phoned home and Robert asked her whether or not she and Brock were coming home for Thanksgiving, because he and Catherine had some news for them all. Jaclyn had already told him in October that they may not make it home because work was building up, but had said she'd call closer to the time. Now she said, "Please just tell me you didn't get her pregnant."

"JACLYN!" Robert growled. "Damn it, what happened to the manners we taught you?"

"Sorry, Dad," Jaclyn said unrepentantly, still feeling uncomfortable at the thought of her father having an active love life... and suspecting she knew exactly what news he and Catherine had to share. "Brock and I will be home Thursday night, if that's all right?"

"Fine. Good. See you then, darling."

"Bye, Dad."

O o O o O o

"Well, she's coming and Brock's coming with her," Robert said, dropping the cordless phone onto the table by his side and smiling crookedly at Catherine who was snuggled against him in the big bed they had bought for one of the new bedrooms at the cabin. "And she doesn't want to be told that you're pregnant."

Catherine laughed. "I wonder how she guessed my secret when I haven't even told YOU?" she teased him. Then she added, "MaryBeth is my one special child, I think, although we HAVE had fun, haven't we, over the months? I think I'm glad I'm too old to get pregnant. I had once thought YOU were too old to be so virile!"

"I'll have you know I'm not old... not when I'm with you, anyway. Do you think Jaclyn knows what we want to tell her? Or Lori?"

"I think both of your daughters are extremely bright woman... and I'm sure they know. I just hope they will accept me as a more... public part of your life."

"How can they not? You're a very impressive doctor... you're beautiful, sexy..."

"Somehow I don't think those qualifications of yours will enhance my suitability as a possible wife for their father," Catherine said seriously, stopping his hand as he tickled her lightly.

"It has been almost a year since MaryBeth's death," Robert said, evading her fingers and letting his hand drift down her body. He loved the feel of her smooth, soft skin... loved HER. "I reminded them that their mother and I got them another puppy when theirs was killed, and that they loved it just as much..."

"I'm not a puppy, Robert," Catherine said, just a little sharply.

"It was just a metaphor."

Catherine rolled her eyes, then said, "I don't expect them to love me just as much as they loved their mother, or in the same way. I just want them to see that I don't plan to take YOUR love away from them as well. I want them to accept me as a permanent, important part of your life... and perforce theirs."

"Mmmhmmm," Robert nuzzled her neck, his lips moving up her chin then covering her mouth. "I love you, Catherine. I am sure they will accept you. What's not to accept? God, you're killing me, Catherine..."

"That wasn't exactly the idea," she murmured, returning his kisses. "You DID say you weren't old, didn't you? Mmmm, that's nice..." Their passion flared again, and she trembled as he started streaks of lightning flashing through her veins, heating her to boiling point in moments. She loved the slight roughness of his work-hardened hands and the way they could move with such intuition. He seemed to know without asking exactly where she loved to be touched. "Oh, Robert, I DO love you!"

In no time, they were lost in their own world.

O o O o O o

Seeing her father's besotted expression as he was telling them all that he and Catherine were both handing in their respective resignations in mid-December and planning a wedding on Christmas Eve, and viewing Catherine's look of love tinged with anxiety, Jaclyn was finally forced to put aside her feeling of dismay at the news. No matter how much she might wish her mother had not died and her father had not fallen in love again, those were the realities, and she had to accept them if she wanted to maintain any sort of a relationship with her father in the future. Besides, of all the women he MIGHT have chosen, Jaclyn had to concede that Catherine was probably the best choice. If he had to choose anyone to replace her mother, of course.

She had to tell herself that she was happy for her father once again that Christmas Eve when she and Lori stood with Catherine and Robert as they committed themselves to each other in a small ceremony at the cabin where they had taken refuge just over a year previously. Brock, Jeff, the two children, and Catherine's friends, William and Marina, were the only other guests. As she listened to the words spoken, Jaclyn suddenly realized that it was no longer a real hardship to accept Catherine into their family.

"A wedding is the celebration of the highest we know in love, the pledging of the deepest fidelity, the expression of the highest aspiration. A relationship so sacred must not be entered into casually, but thoughtfully and deliberately. A wedding is also a recognition that love and marriage are not always easy and that along with the tenderness, newness and joy in a marriage, a marriage must overcome many forces that might destroy it. Out of this tangled world, these two have been drawn together, two people bound firmly by the sure insights of love. I charge you, Catherine and Robert, with the responsibility to keep your love alive — to grow, to change, to maintain the capacity for wonder, for spontaneity, for humour, to remain flexible, warm and sensitive. Give fully to each other, show your real feelings to one another, save time for each other, no matter what demands are made upon your day. I charge you to nurture each other to wholeness, realizing that each of you will need at times to bring strength and support and worth to the other."

Seeing the happiness on the older couple's faces, then glancing over at the picture on the mantel of their family a year before MaryBeth's death, Jaclyn knew that it was true... love could not simply cease to exist. Instead, love continued to grow and expand, enriching the lives of all who opened themselves to its power. Reaching out impulsively, Jaclyn took and squeezed Brock's hand, feeling warmth flood through her at his return smile. When the wedding was over, Jaclyn was the first to embrace Catherine and welcome her to the family, and knew from Catherine's moist, happy eyes that the older woman understood.

O o O o O o

Only a week later, the night before she and Brock were to leave to return to New York, Jaclyn woke up with a start. Unsure of what had awoken her, she lay still and listened intently. The silence surrounding the cabin almost unnerved her. She was much more accustomed to the constant noise of the city traffic. Then she heard the bedsprings in the next room, and heard her father's faintly irritated voice saying, "Oh, come on, Catherine. Please?"

"Leave me alone," came Catherine's muffled grumble.

"You know it won't take long."

"Robert, what I KNOW is that I won't be able to sleep afterwards! And I have to work tomorrow!"

"But you know I can't sleep without it."

"And that is my problem? Tell me, Robert, do you often think of things like this so late at night?"

There was a brief chuckle, then her father said, "Only when I'm hot." Jaclyn grimaced inwardly.

"Damn it, Robert, you get hot at the most inconvenient times."

His voice took on a wheedling note as he said, "If you loved me, Catherine, I wouldn't have to beg you."

Catherine heaved a sigh. "If you loved ME, you'd be more considerate, Robert!"

"I guess you just don't love me any more, or you WOULD..."

"Oh really, Robert, you know I love you!" Now Catherine sounded exasperated. "Please, let's forget it for tonight. I'm TIRED, Robert! It has been a very long, stressful day for all of us!"

"Please...come on, Catherine... please?"

After a short pause, Jaclyn heard Catherine sigh loudly again, then say, "All right, I'll do it."

There was a somewhat louder creaking of the bedsprings, accompanied by various grunts and sighs. Jaclyn squirmed in her own bed, covering her head with the blankets and trying to block out the sounds. It didn't work.

"What's the matter now, Catherine? Need a flashlight?" His voice almost sounded taunting.

"I can't find it, damn it."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, just feel for it!" Robert sounded almost exasperated.

Jaclyn grinned, then suddenly remembered just what it was that was happening in the next room, and she shuddered.

"There!" Catherine exclaimed almost triumphantly. "NOW are you satisfied?"

"Oh, yes," Robert almost moaned. Jaclyn frantically tried to cover her ears again.

"Is it up far enough?" Catherine asked in a long-suffering voice.

"Oh, yeah, that's good."

Jaclyn was about to throw the covers back and get out of the room when Catherine spoke one more time.

"Now go to sleep, Robert, and from now on when you want the window open, do it yourself!"

For a moment Jaclyn was frozen, then she had to struggle to keep from shrieking with laughter. Her own bed moved as Brock rolled over and drew her close to him. "I heard it, too," he whispered, and Jaclyn could tell he was fighting his own laughter, "and all I can say is, it serves you right, my love, for having such a dirty mind! That'll teach you for not being sure Catherine was the right woman for your father! See? Father knows best!"

"Oh, YOU!" she whispered back crossly, but she melted into his arms and kissed him. Long after her father's snores rumbled through the cabin, Jaclyn and Brock celebrated their own love quietly but no less effectively.

THE END


End file.
